HAPPINESS AT WORK = GOOGLE

January 12, 2007
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

Google was named # 1 in Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2007. If you work for Google you will have free gourmet meals at any of the 11 gourmet cafeterias at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.

Other services Google offers its employees for free are a workout room with weights and rowing machine, locker rooms, swimming spa, a massage room, laundry room, child care, haircuts and notaries onsite, get your car washed for free, car services and five onsite doctors available for employee checkups, free of charge. Please bring your dog to work with you once in awhile if it is okay with the group of people you work with.

Are the people who work for Google happy to work there? Yes, you bet they are because they know their company cares about them and shows them they care. That may explain why Google receives 1,300 resumes a day. Could your company have employees that are as happy as Google, even if you don't have enough money to give them all these services? Yes, they can and will be as happy.

Happiness training at work can be extremely profitable for companies, as well as for employees. A few brief sessions can generate enormous benefits. The cost would be minimal, and the positive effects can be permanent. The benefits of happiness training are numerous. Let's take a look at a few of the benefits for the organization.

Increased Production: Happy people are more productive workers. When the time flows better for workers, their ability to do their jobs are enhanced.

Decision Making Ability Enhancement: Happiness reduces stress and uncertainty, which is actually "confusion." People stop fearing the consequences and become part of the solution. When people feel good about the job they are doing, they do it better. Instead of creating problems, they are given the tools to become problem solvers.

Clients Experience Happiness: Happy employees treat clients substantially better. The employees' manner, calmness, the way they speak, even the tonality of their voice makes people feel good about working with their company. New customers are attracted to happy employees.

Decreased Absenteeism and Sick Leave: Happiness has a positive health connection. Happy people are less likely to catch colds. They recover faster from accidents and sickness than the average person.

More Energy Toward Work: If you want a job done right, ask a happy person to do it. The more they like the job, the more energy they have. Happiness is contagious, and that energy will spread throughout the organization.

Communication Enhancement: Good communication is a prime reason for success. It is also the leading reason for failure. The better one learns to communicate with oneself, the better they are able to communicate with others. Happy people with good self-esteem can communicate more honestly and effectively than others. Creativity can flow naturally.

Leadership Values: The leaders of an organization have the opportunity to create something more than "money is the only thing that matters," mentality. They can become part of creating a meaningful life not only for their workers and families, but for themselves as well.

Teamwork Improvement: A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Enhancing the individual with happiness strengthens and empowers the entire organizational chain. Unhappiness weakens the chain. Happiness creates a positive chain reaction. Cooperation will be experienced and enhanced.

Commitment to the Business: People begin to feel that they are an integral part of the organization, and work to support it in their actions, and values. Company morale improves and so does spirit and confidence. The faithfulness factor climbs and there will be more truthfulness, honesty and ethical behavior.

Being Ahead of the Competition: Incorporating happiness training in organizations allows the management to benefit from this new innovational style.

Employees Cherishing Their Jobs: Job satisfaction means that money is not the only reason people do things. Motivation will become a larger incentive for people's actions. Due to peoples improved attitudes, the work environment and quality of work will significantly improve as well.

Higher Profits: More efficient workers, less employee turnover, better concentration and focus, better team building skills will add to the bottom line. Friendlier surroundings allow for more progress and productive work.

Materializing the Mission Statement: Employees would understand the shared vision of management and personally work toward making it a daily reality.

Public Acknowledgment: Newspapers would be interested in the happiness polices instituted by companies and this would further enhance the management's image. Competent and dedicated workers would be attracted to the company as a result of this publicity.

Supervision Enhancement: Happier people are better aligned with management. Less critical supervision translates into more effective supervision and control, which will increase productiveness.

Feeling Appreciated: One of the ingredients to happiness is gratitude. When you make someone feel appreciated they feel better about themselves and what they are doing for their company. They feel like they are making a valuable contribution to people in the company and to the people who purchase their products, goods and services. Employees feel they are actually making a difference.

Our next Happiness Club meeting will include a presentation called: "Overcoming Problems with Happiness," by Lionel Ketchian. The meeting is on Thursday, January 18, from 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. at the Fairfield Public Library, in the Rotary Room at 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield. Meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club, a Happiness Coach, and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.